427
by Imaginationqueen87
Summary: One of the children has gone missing and the Las Vegas CSIs are called in to solve the case. How are they going to deal with giant robots that turn into vehicles? And how are we going to get Jack to quit blaming himself?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers Prime, CSI Crime Scene Investigation, or Criminal Minds

* * *

><p><strong>427<strong>

It was quiet in the Autobot base, or it seemed that way on the surface. It was hot, but given the fact that it was the middle of July and they were in Nevada it really wasn't a surprise that it was hot.

Miko was seated on the couch playing air guitar along to whatever heavy metal piece was playing in her headphones and Ratchet was glad that the headphones Miko was wearing muffled the music to the point he could tune it out.

He had initially not wanted to have the three humans around out of concern that something would happen to them. He worried they would get underfoot and end up dead, but he learned quickly that they were good at keeping clear of Autobot feet. They also learned fast and had the kind of information that Agent Fowler couldn't, or wouldn't, give them

He turned to work on the latest issue that sprung up on the computer system.

"Well Ratchet I've got to go" Miko said absently "My host family wants me home soon"

"Okay, bye"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile the LVPD night shift was just clocking in.<p>

"Hello Katherine"

"Hi, Ray, how are you doing this evening?"

Ray didn't get the chance to respond as Katherine's pager went off

"Oh God…!" Katherine whispered

"What is it?" Ray asked

"427 out of Jasper"

"Kidnapping?"

"Yes" Katherine took off running Ray hot on her heals

It took almost an hour for Katherine and Ray to arrive at the house.\

"Mrs. Esquivel, please… I'm trying to help… when was the last time you saw your son?"

"This morning, one of his friends, Jack Darby, picked him up for school, like every morning"

"Jack Darby, how old is he?" Katherine asked

"16, Raf skipped a few grades early on so they're on the same campus and Jack… he watches out for Raf a lot on campus protects him from the bullies, to the extent of his abilities" Mrs. Esquivel explained

"So you trust Jack Darby with your son?" Katherine confirmed

"Jack has been really good with Raf, didn't see him as a burden, really treated him like a brother" Mrs. Esquivel sighed "Jack has been beating himself up from the moment he realized Raf wasn't with him. He called 911 he back-tracked his entire route in case Raf distracted or something"

Katherine got a sent article for the dogs and Raf's toothbrush for DNA

"First I'd say talk to Jack Darby, see what he knows. I could be reading this too far but why would a sixteen year old like Jack take a second glance at a kid like Raf? Then again he could have seen something in Raf, seen him like the baby brother he always wanted but never had. He is an only child, single parent household. He might have taken Raf in to fill in that gap for no better reason than he saw something special in Rafael" Katherine paused "If he's as close to Rafael as Mrs. Esquivel thinks he should be close"

"Either that or still with the search party" Ray surmised as a teen on a custom, blue motorcycle rode up.

"Are you Jack Darby?" Katherine asked as the teen removed his helmet

"Yes, why…?"

"I'm Katherine Willows with the crime lab; I've got a few questions for you"

"Okay, but… can we hurry, I really need to get back to the search" Jack asked as he got off the bike setting the kick stand

"This won't take long… Mrs. Esquivel says you normally take Raf to school in a yellow and black muscle car… why aren't you driving that now?" Katherine asked

"One… it won't start and two… I've got a better view of things around me from my bike" he paused "I would use this to take Raf to school but I didn't think Mrs. Esquivel would appreciate me taking her son on a motorcycle… I know my mom said she wouldn't have allowed me on one at his age. Plus I need to find a helmet to fit him"

A woman in green scrubs ran up to Jack

"Jack!"

"Mom…" Jack looked to his mother the worry still evident in his eyes

"Mrs. Darby…"

"Yes," June said in concern

"I'm Katherine Willows from the crime lab"

Jack left to get ready to return to the search and June turned to Katherine

"Is my son a suspect?"

"Well right now we have no prof this was defiantly a kidnapping, for all we know Raf got lost and we're going to find him somewhere trying to figure out how to get back here" Katherine said, "But if we were to look at this like a definite kidnapping then I would have to warn you that Jack does look like a good suspect"

The lead detective approached Katherine and told her that they had found the yellow and black muscle car broke down on the side of the road between where Jack and Raf had been spending their time and the Esquivel house. They had also checked around the Darby house and found no sign of Raf being there or having been brought there any time recently.

"So far nothing has contradicted Jack's story that he was just walking Raf home when Jack either lost track of Rafael or he was snatched" Katherine sighed "Detective I'm beginning to believe that Jack really didn't have anything to do with this, he just seems too genuinely unsettled by this"

"I don't either" the detective replied "kid's working himself to death trying to find this boy; I don't think he would if he was involved"

"Yeah" Katherine said as she watched Jack accept a phone call from someone she assumed was still searching

"Sadie I know, but he's my **brother**" Jack sighed "No… not literally, but he is in every way that matters! Sadie… he looks up to me, I can't let him down… not now!"

Katherine watched as the tears fell down Jack's face.

"I should have been able to protect him!"

June hugged her son and tried to sooth him and convince him he was doing all he could, but the effort from her and 'Sadie', also known as Arcee, was lost on Jack as he just refused to believe it.

"Mrs. Esquivel is there anything about your son that hasn't been said. Any medical conditions that we need to know about?" Ray asked

"He has severe asthma, but as long as he can take his controller medication every day he's fine but once he starts missing doses the chances of him having a major asthma attack go up" Mrs. Esquivel explained

Katherine watched as Jack blanched at that statement

"I've got to go… I need to keep looking"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile in Quantico, Virginia, a news bulletin caught the attention of an oddly dressed blonde woman.<p>

"Oh my God, no… not little Raf… no… no…!" Penelope grabbed the phone and called her cousin

"Hello… Carla… is your son… oh God… he is… I'll be there as soon as I can" Penelope got off the phone and ran to Hotchner's office.

"Hotch, I… I hate to ask but I need to take some personal time I just found out that my cousin's little boy, my Godson, is missing" Penelope said and continued by explaining that she felt she could be of more help in Jasper than in Quantico.

"Normally since he isn't a direct relation I'd say no, but given the fact that Carla Esquivel and her son are some of the few living relatives you have left I'll grant you the leave under family crisis. I'll also send word that the BAU is available to help find Rafael" Hotch said

"Thank you" Penelope said and ran off to grab her purse and set up the flight to Nevada.

* * *

><p>Arcee sent a message to Optimus and Ratchet that things weren't looking good with the search for Rafael. She also informed them of his medical condition which immediately sent Ratchet to the medical search engines to find what it was, what caused it and what symptoms to look out for.<p>

After the transmission she said a silent prayer to Primus for Rafael's safety and that he would be found alive.

Rafael struggled uselessly against his bonds. He didn't recognize his captors, but he could tell they weren't M.E.C.H just by their outfits. Also the disorganization was a key indicator that they weren't M.E.C.H soldiers. Not to mention the fact that M.E.C.H would have known of his Asthma and known better than to use duct tape as a gag. He tried to see out the window and realized much to his dismay he could be anywhere with no way to contact anybody.

To Be Continued…

A/N: if you haven't figured it out by now (or didn't know to begin with) 427 is the radio numeric code that is used in Las Vegas for a kidnapping


	2. Chapter 2

Agent Fowler arrived at the Autobot Outpost to find that Only Ratchet was currently there.

"Ratchet what is going on?" he asked

"Rafael is missing" Ratchet replied

Fowler couldn't believe his ears. He liked Raff and, unlike the Autobots, he knew the odds weren't in their favor.

* * *

><p>Penelope arrived at the airport and was shocked to see Spencer Reed and Derek Morgan<p>

"What are you doing here?"

"We're here to show our support and let you know that you're being ferried to your destination by the BAU's private jet" Derek said

"We are also coming as aid to the local police to locate your Godson" Spencer added

"Thanks guys" Penelope hugged Derek then Spencer and they then boarded the plane to Nevada

* * *

><p>Miko sighed as Bulkhead arrived at her host parent's house and Mrs. Darby got out<p>

"_Chikushō_…" she muttered

After a few minutes of explanation Miko was allowed to go help with the search for Rafael. To Miko's surprise her host parents volunteered to help try and find Rafael.

It didn't surprise June that they stepped up to help, but, due to the fact that they were riding with her, Bulkhead couldn't fill Miko in on the Autobot details. Miko seemed shocked that the police would suspect Jack in Raff's disappearance but June explained it and she seemed to understand it a little better.

They arrived at the Esquivel house and Miko went to Jack to find out what the Autobots were doing to try and find Raff.

"Optimus and Bumblebee have been driving around to see if he might have taken a wrong turn somewhere but I doubt they'll find much. Bee seems to be really beating himself up about this."

"He's always been really close to Raff" Miko said, "but he isn't the only one beating himself up over this"

"What do you mean?" Jack asked

"You're doing it too, Jack, there was nothing you could have done!" Miko pointed out

"Yeah, I should have paid more attention to him, maybe this wouldn't have happened" Jack groaned

"Just shut up, Jack, you and I both know you did all you could!" Miko said anger hinted in her voice

"That's what I've heard" Jack droned

"They're pulling anyone under 18 off the search for safety reasons" June said as a new vehicle entered and William Fowler got out and joined June, Miko and Jack.

"I hate to do this but we need to let the CSI's and police in on the bots. The investigators are gathered but we need Arcee" Fowler said

"Why Arcee…?" Miko wondered

"Let's just start small, Arcee isn't as imposing to human allies as Bulkhead or Optimus… no offence meant to her, she can be scary as hell when she wants and you can let her know I said that" Fowler sighed

"What does Optimus have to say about this?" jack asked

"He agrees that it needs to be done, but honestly he doesn't like it." Fowler sighed "To be honest I don't think he's going to like much of anything until we get Rafael back"

Jack, Fowler and Arcee soon joined Katherine and ray to give them the information.

"So what is this about Jack having to lie to us?" Katherine asked

"Federal secrets, but what Jack said about where they started from and where Rafael vanished from is true"

"But what is the big secret?" Ray asked

"I am… well, I'm part of it" Arcee said as she rolled up beside Jack

"That motorcycle just spoke" Katherine said in shock "Just when I thought I'd seen it all!"

"She does more than talk… Arcee" Jack said with a knowing smile

Jack and fowler took a few steps away from Arcee and she transformed to her robot mode

"Oh my…" Ray trailed completely at a loss for words

Arcee explained what the Autobots were and the real reason Jack and Raff ended up walking.

"So the muscle car didn't really break down…" Katherine inferred

"Exactly, and Jack really hasn't been driving Rafael back and forth to school, Bumblebee has. He is the muscle car you spoke of, he was instructed to go there and appear like a broken down vehicle so we didn't blow Jack's cover story and make him look even more suspicious" Arcee stated "And the 'Sadie' he was talking to on the phone… that was me"

"So 'Sadie' is a name you use in situations like that because it is fairly common here" Ray surmised "I assume it's easier than always having to explain a very unusual name"

"Does Optimus have an alternate name… like you do?"

"The alternate name is used for the holographic drivers that we used to use… and in some cases still have to use" a deep voice explained

"Who… oh… I take it that is Optimus Prime" Ray said looking at the red and blue semi that had pulled up behind Arcee

"That is correct" Optimus replied "This is Bulkhead and you have already seen Bumblebee"

"I am Doctor Ray Langston and this is CSI Katherine Willows we are with the Las Vegas crime lab"

"Dr. Langston, CSI Willows it is a pleasure to meet you both" Optimus said

"I won't ask you how you got involved with these kids; that's a story for another time, I just want to know what you hope to do to help us find Rafael… I mean I'm a mother myself I know that Mrs. Esquivel must be worried sick about Rafael"

Arcee returned to her vehicle mode and activated her holographic rider

"Like this" Arcee said, her voice now coming from the hologram

"Okay, and the three of you" Ray turned to Optimus, Bulkhead and Bumblebee "What will you do?"

"Anything required of us" Optimus replied

* * *

><p>Rafael felt as if was being suffocated and that was actually rather accurate.<p>

"I thought I told you NOT to tape his mouth! He is an asthmatic!"

Raff was shocked when the man removed the tape, pulled him to a separate room, untied him then pushed him inside. The door was then slammed and locked.

Raff could hear them yelling as he walked over to the opposite side of the room and sat with his back to the corner wishing he could contact Bumblebee.

* * *

><p>Penelope, Derek and Spencer entered the temporary command center. Fowler was slightly shocked to see the BAU agents there. He was even more surprised when Rafael's mother Carla went and embraced Penelope.<p>

Fowler walked up to the two agents and introduced himself

"What have we got here, Fowler?" Derek asked

"Agent Morgan… I can explain this better; I'm Katherine Willows from the crime lab. We have a thirteen year old boy; he's been missing for about four hours. We just recently got a ransom demand; the odd thing is it was sent to Agent Fowler, not to the family"

Fowler then, grudgingly, read them in on the secret that Rafael and his friends had stumbled upon.

"So he, Jack and Miko have been spending time with these robots for months, but only one parent knows about them" Spencer said in confusion

"We originally tried to keep June in the dark but our foes wouldn't allow it" Fowler said

"I'd like to meet one of these transformers; it would be interesting to actually say you got to meet someone from another world"

"Then today is your lucky day, you aren't meeting just any transformer, you're meeting the leader of the Autobots." Fowler explained as they rode out into desert "The Autobots are our allies, there are others, known as Decepticons, them, I would run from"

"That is an extremely advisable course of action" a deep male voice stated

"Who said that?" Derek demanded

"That… was Optimus Prime" Katherine said with a smile as she leaned against the red and blue semi they had all come to stand around

"CSI Willows I would advise that you move from that location" Optimus stated as a gentle warning, he knew that she was too close for him to transform without causing her harm.

"Why wouldn't she want to stand there?" Derek asked then Optimus transformed

"Does this answer your question, Agent Morgan?" Optimus said

"Yes"

"One of my team has formed a strong bond with young Rafael and we all hope to get him back soon"

Optimus introduced his team to the FBI agents and they explained why they were there.

"I thank you for taking the time to help us find Rafael" Optimus said

"This is what we do, but, Optimus, I'm going to be perfectly honest the odds that we will get Rafael back aren't good. At the moment he is relatively safe because his captors still need him alive, but the moment they get what they want they will lose any reason to keep him alive. Some may just return him, but there is a high chance they'll kill him. I don't mean to upset anybody but I feel like you deserve the whole truth about this situation" Spencer said

Optimus sighed, it was a lot to process, but he was grateful that Spencer felt the need to be completely honest.

"Thank you, Dr. Reed, as hard as it is to hear, it is best that we be completely aware"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile: June had spoken to Carla about Raff's condition and Carla decided that due to the fact that June was a nurse it would be best that she had Raff's spare inhaler in case he needed it when he was found. June looked at the inhaler in her hand and sighed slightly. She was glad she never had to deal with anything like this with Jack.<p>

She put the inhaler in her pocket and started to walk back to the house, to be with Carla and the family when she was snatched and pulled into a strange panel truck.

To Be Continued…


	3. Chapter 3

Rafael was scared, he couldn't breathe at all. He knew what was happening but there was nothing he could do.

"What do you need me for?" June demanded

The man guiding her didn't say a word he just pointed into a room where she looked to see Rafael sitting in the corner gasping for every breath. The heavy wheezing sound broke June's heart and sent her straight into her medical mode, but the mother in her still showed a lot.

"Raf!" she ran to him pulling out the inhaler as she ran. She handed it to him and he wasted no time in using it making June glad she had shaken it before she handed it to him

"Thank you…" he managed

"Don't try to talk yet" June said hugging Raf gently, "just catch your breath."

June wondered what they were going to do with her now that Rafael was over his asthma attack, but to her surprise they just shut the door, locked it and left her there with him.

Raf continued to lean on June, exhaustion evident in his posture and actions.

"Just rest, they'll find us" June assured Raf gently as she guided him to lay his head in her lap. She took his glasses and hung them on her shirt to keep them safe and nearby.

"Okay" he sighed

June watched as Rafael settle into an uneasy sleep, she could tell he hadn't slept and was now concerned for his well-being. Had he eaten that night? She had no way to know for sure without waking Rafael to ask him. She preferred to allow him to sleep as long as his body would allow him to for in sleep he wasn't enduring the stress and fear he would while awake.

* * *

><p>Optimus sighed as he got word of June's capture. He knew for a fact that Jack wasn't going to take this news well. He already blamed himself for the capture of Rafael he could only imagine how Jack would take this.<p>

Optimus rolled up to where Jack sat alone.

"Jack, I need to speak with you," Optimus said as Jack got into his cab "I'm afraid the news isn't good"

"What now?" Jack wondered as they started to drive away

"You're mother has been taken prisoner by the same individuals that took Rafael. They have given no reason for her capture, and their demands have not changed. They still want the specs to our energy weapons, and the knowledge of how to power them. You know as well as I do that we cannot permit them to have that knowledge"

"Damn" Jack muttered angrily

"I am terribly sorry, Jack, but I thought it would be better if you heard it from a friend than a stranger"

"Thank you, Optimus, really, but this is really bad" Jack sighed "They could have captured her for any number of reasons but… none of them are good"

"You think they took her because they needed someone with medical knowledge to look at Rafael" Optimus surmised

"Yeah" Jack sighed "that's exactly what I was thinking"

* * *

><p>June ran her fingers through Raf's hair as he slept and sighed. To her it felt like only yesterday that Jack was Raf's age. She knew Rafael had a large family and sometimes felt like he was drowned out by his siblings. She understood why Raf liked to be with the Autobots, they heard him. She sighed as Raf seemed content and oblivious to her musings and the rest of the world around him. She thanked her lucky stars that he had been able to fall asleep. It wasn't that she didn't want to deal with the child, far from it she found that she probably couldn't love him more if he had come from her own womb, but she knew that he was better off not dealing with the stress of being a prisoner for ransom and not knowing if he would ever see his parents again.<p>

"You don't know it Raf, but we all care about you" June whispered "Jack, Miko and the Autobots are going to find us soon"

Optimus looked on as a group gathered in front of the Esquivel house. FBI investigators and negotiators were trying to get the kidnappers to release June and Rafael, but they weren't yielding results.

"I wish we knew where they were" Arcee muttered as she rolled up on his left "then we could just spring them and forget this negotiation nonsense"

"Oh my… I just remembered something" Penelope said pulling her laptop and placed it on Bumblebee's hood. She had been introduced to the Autobots after Derek and Spencer were.

"Miss Garcia, what are you doing?" Optimus asked

"Activating the tracker in Rafael's watch and hoping he didn't leave it in his bedroom" Penelope Replied

June did her best to contain her hope as a tiny light started blinking on Rafael's watch.

To Be Continued…


	4. Chapter 4

"Derek, I've got Rafael's location" Penelope reported

"How did you manage that, baby girl?" Derek responded

"The watch I gave him a few years ago has a tracking device in it" she handed him a slip of paper "These are the co-ordinance, Optimus Prime already has them and the means to track it should it move, but he said he wasn't going to move in until he got approval from you or another from the FBI"

"Thanks"

* * *

><p>June said a prayer that the light on Raf's watch was what she thought it was and that someone, namely Optimus was on their way. It was hard not to feel safe when standing near a semi-truck that you know is really the compassionate and protective, Autobot leader. She heard the distinctive horn of a semi and wondered if it was Optimus. Then she heard people storming the place and woke Rafael.<p>

"Ms. Darby, what's going on?" he asked as she placed gave him his glasses back

"I think someone mounted a rescue"

"OPTIMUS!" he said excitement playing across his young features and June couldn't help smile

* * *

><p>Optimus pulled up as close to the co-ordinance as he could and sounded his horn as planned. The humans went in to clear the building and soon word came back that they had found June and Rafael. They were safe. He sent messages to Bumblebee, Ratchet and Arcee to let them know that the situation had been resolved and he would be personally escorting June and Rafael to the Esquivel house.<p>

June climbed out of Optimus's cab and hugged Jack tightly in her arms, then turned to watch as Rafael's parents embraced their son tightly thanking God that he had been returned to them. They turned to question why the semi was involved when a man in a red and blue jacket approached them. He looked to be in his early forties with black hair and blue eyes

"I am Ryan Pax, this is my rig… when I heard that your son was missing I decided I'd do whatever I could to bring him home to you that is why I involved myself with the rescue" he sighed "I knew someone who… who wasn't as fortunate and I vowed that if I ever got the chance to help bring a child home to their parents I would… in the memory of that child"

"I feel like, thank you is almost inadequate, but in the end that's all I can say…"

Jack started towards Arcee when Raf stopped him

"Jack, I know you think this was your fault, but it wasn't, Jack, you did all you could there was no way you could have seen that coming" Raf said

"Yeah… I guess you're right, but that doesn't mean that if I hadn't been so distracted I wouldn't have been able to stop them"

"We don't know that, Jack" Arcee cut in

"Yeah… well"

"Jackson Darby, we could go on and on asking 'What if…' for the next century but NOTHING would change" Arcee said "We can't change the past but Raf is safe now, and that is all that really matters!"

"True" Jack smiled slightly then turned to face Raf

"Why aren't you going home, you're parents are waiting for you"

"True" Raf said then started to go back but stopped and went to hug Jack, then went to his parents yelling a goodbye to Jack

"June I want to thank you for watching out for our son" Carla said hugging June

"It was no problem, you have a great boy here… never forget that" June said

"We were both blessed with good boys… only yours seems to be turning into a good man" Carla said

June thanked Carla for the complement given about Jack then went to leave

"Mom, is Penelope staying tonight?" Rafael asked his mother

Carla looked up at Penelope as if asking her to answer that question

"Sure, I'll stay tonight, but I have to go back to Quantico tomorrow evening, but I'll be here all day" Penelope smiled and hugged Raf as they went inside

June walked up to Raf and Arcee as the Esquivel family went into their home along with Penelope

"Let's go home" June said

"That sounds good" Jack replied

"Sounds good to me too" Arcee chimed

The End 


End file.
